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2011 Student Freedom Ride

2011 Student Freedom Ride

Applications being accepted through January 17, 2011

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE will choose 40 college students to participate in its Student Freedom Ride in honor of its new film Freedom Riders.

Freedom Riders, a PBS’s AMERICAN EXPERIENCE presentation premiering on WXXI-TV/HD May 2011, tells the powerful and inspirational story of the more than 400 black and white men and women who, using non-violent tactics, risked their lives to challenge segregated facilities in the South in 1961. As part of AMERICAN EXPERIENCE's outreach campaign, it is hosting a 2011 Student Freedom Ride, a journey retracing the historic civil rights bus rides that changed America. Accompanied by original Freedom Riders, forty college students will be chosen to participate in the bus ride, which will take place from May 6 - 16, 2011 in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the original rides.

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE is seeking college students from a broad range of backgrounds who will lend diverse voices to the journey. Students will be encouraged to share their experiences and must be eager to learn from their peers, from pioneers in the civil rights movement, and from today’s civic leaders. Students should have strong written communication skills and a commitment to civic engagement.